Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 14.djvu/150

138 K O L K O N

about 105 miles south-south-east of the latter, in 48° 31′ N, lat., 25° 1′ E. long. Kolomea is the seat of the administrative, military, and judicial authorities of the district, and has Roman Catholic churches, synagogues, a lower gymnasium, and manufactories of earthenware. More than a third of the inhabitants are Jews, who carry on the greater part both of the wholesale and retail trade. The Ruthenian or native population of the town and neighbourhood are mostly employed in agricultural pursuits, and in the pasturing of horses, oxen, and sheep. In 1881 the population amounted to 23,109.

KOLOMNA, a district town of Russia, in the government of Ryazan, situated on the railway between Moscow and Ryazan, 67 miles south-east of Moscow, at the confluence of the Moskva river with the Koiomenka. It is an old town mentioned in annals in 1177, and until the 14th century the capital of the Ryazan principality. It suffered greatly from the invasions of the Tartars, who destroyed it four times, as well as from the wars of the 17th century; but it always recovered, and never has lost its commercial importance. During this century it became a centre of manufactures of silks, cottons, and leather; there are also several smaller manufactures. The merchants of Kolomna carry on an active trade in cattle brought from southern provinces, and in grain, cattle, tallow, skins, salt, and timber purchased in the governments of Ryazan and Tula, and sent to Moscow, either by rail, or by boat down the Moskva river. Population 19,000.

KOMORN, or Comorn (Hungarian, Rév-Komárom), a royal free town of Hungary, and capital of the trans-Danubian county of Komárom, lies at the eastern extremity of the island of Csalloköz or Schütt, and at the confluence of the Waag with the Danube, 48 miles west-north-west from Budapest, with which city as also with Vienna it is directly connected by railway, in 47° 46′ N. lat., 18° 7′ E. long. Komorn is celebrated chiefly for its fortifications, which, owing to their favourable position and extended line of têtes-de-pont, are believed to be impregnable, and are capable of holding a force of some 30,000 defenders. The town is the seat of the county administration, and of a royal court of law, and has Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, and Calvinist churches, a Jewish synagogue, Roman Catholic and Protestant gymnasia, county and town halls, a military hospital, two savings banks, and a shipping agency. The streets are for the most part narrow, irregular, and gloomy. The commercial relations of Komorn with the chief towns on the Danube are facilitated by its important steam-packet station. The inhabitants carry on a brisk trade in grain, timber, wine, flour, and fish. The civil population at the end of 1880 amounted to 13,108, mostly Magyars and Germans by nationality.

The walls of the fortifications of Komorn wore commenced from the land side in 1272. They were much strengthened and extended two hundred years later by King Matthias (Corvinus). The new tort was begun by Ferdinand I. about 1547, and received additions in 1673 under Leopold I. In 1543, 1594, 1598, and 1663 Komorn was beleaguered by the Turks. It was raised to the dignity of a royal free town in 1751. In 1767, 1768, September 1848, and April 1854 it suffered severely from fire, and in 1763, 1822, and 1851 from earthquakes. The fortifications, having been neglected during the latter half of the 18th century, were enlarged and to a great extent reconstructed between 1805 and 1809. During the revolu tionary war of 1848-49 Komorn was a principal point of military operations, and was long unsuccessfully besieged by the Austrians, who on the 11th July 1849 were defeated there by General Görgei, and on the 3d August by General Klapka. On the 27th September the fortress capitulated to the Austrians upon honourable terms, and on the 3d and 4th October was evacuated by the Hungarian troops. The treasure of the Austrian national bank was removed here from Vienna in 1866, when that city was threatened by the Prussians.

KOMOTAU, a town and district of Bohemia, at the foot of the Erzgebirge, and at the junction of the Buschtiehrad, Dux-Bodenbach, and Aussig-Teplitz lines of railway, about 10 miles north-north-west of Saaz, in 50° 27′ N. lat., 13° 26′ E. long. An old but thriving town, Komotau is the seat of the military and judicial authorities of the district, as also of boards of mining and of customs. The industrial establishments comprise manufactories of woollen cloth, linen, and paper, dyeing houses, breweries, distilleries, and vinegar works, a sugar of lead manufactory, and an iron foundry. The amount of beer delivered in 1880 was 535,583 gallons. Lignite is worked in the neighbourhood. At the end of 1880 the population was 10,111.

KONGSBERG, a mining town in the district of Buskerud, Norway, is situated on the Laagen, 500 feet above the sea, and about 60 miles south-west of Christiania by rail. With the exception of the church and the town- house, the buildings are mostly of wood. The origin and whole industry of the town are connected with the Govern ment silver-mines in the neighbourhood. Their first discovery was made by a peasant in 1623, since which time they have been worked with varying success. Over a hundred mines have been opened, but of these only three are now of any importance. The annual profit averages about 22,000. During last century Kongsberg was much more important than it now is, and contained more than double its present population. Dr Clarke in his Travels (1823) gives a good description of the place, and mentions a mass of native silver, nearly 600 lb in weight, found there, which is preserved in the museum at Copenhagen. Within the town of Kongsberg are situated the smelting- works, the mint, and a Government weapon factory. The population of the town in 1875 was 4311.

KÖNIGGRÄTZ (Bohemian, Králové Hradec), a fortified town and episcopal seat in Bohemia, at the confluence of the Acller with the upper Elbe, and at the junction of the Reichenbcrg-Pardubitz and North-Western lines of railway, in 50° 10′ N. lat., 15° 49′ E. long. Wax candles, gloves, shoes, woollen cloths, and musical (wind) instruments are manufactured. The population in 1880 was 6173. The place is chiefly notable from the battle of Königgrätz or Sadowa fought in its neighbourhood on 3d July 1866, when the defeat of the Austrians under Benedek decided the German supremacy of Prussia, and led to the acquisition of Venice by Italy and the constitutional independence of Hungary. See Jähns, Die Schlacht bei Königgrätz, 1876.

KÖNIGINHOF (in Czech, Dvur Kralové), chief town of a department in the north-east of Bohemia, is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, about 80 miles north-east of Prague. In the tower of one of the churches Hanka discovered the Königinhof MSS. in 1817 (see vol. xi. p. 440). The Zaboj monument in the market-place commemorates the discovery. Cotton-weaving, yarn-spinning, and brewing are the leading industries. In 1421 Königinhof was stormed by the Hussites. On June 29, 1866, it was the scene of a Prussian victory over the Austrians. The population in 1869 was 6222.

KÖNIGSBERG (in Polish Krolewiec), chief town of a government district in the province of East Prussia, and since 1843 a fortress of the first rank, is situated on the Pregel, 4½ miles from its mouth in the Frische Haff, 25 miles from the sea-coast, and 397 miles north-east of Berlin, in 54° 43′ N. lat. and 20° 30′ E. long. It consists of three formerly independent parts – the Altstadt (old town) to the west, Lobenicht to the east, and the island Kneiphof, together with numerous suburbs, embraced in a circuit of 9½ miles. The Pregel, spanned by many bridges, flows through the town in two branches, which unite below the Green Bridge. Its greatest breadth within the town is from 80 to 90 yards. It is frozen from November to March. Although an old town, Königsberg does not retain many marks of antiquity. The Altstadt has long